16 Great Turkish Empires is a historical discourse that was created in 1969 to explain the meaning of 16 stars of the presidential seal of Turkey

Presidential Seal of Turkey

The Presidential Seal of Turkey is the official seal of the President of Turkey.It has a large 16-pointed star in the center, which is surrounded by 16 five-pointed stars, symbolizing "16 "historic Turkish states" claimed by the Republic of Turkey.The roots of the Presidential Seal and...

. And it was inaugurated in 1985 with the presidential seal today. Each star symbolizes a "historic Turkish state" claimed by the Republic of Turkey.

The list

The names of 16 "Great Turkish Empires" are listed below.

Turkish name	English translation	Founder In ancient states the name of the founder is not always evident. The name of the earliest monarch cited in Wikipedia is shown.	Article	DatesDates are as shown in the original document
Büyük Hun İmparatorluğu	Great Hunnic Empire	Touman	Xiongnu	204 BC-216
Batı Hun İmparatorluğu	Western Hunnic Empire	Panu (first shanyu of Northern Xiongnu)	48-216 (Southern Xiongnu)
Avrupa Hun İmparatorluğu	European Hunnic Empire	Balamber Balamber Balamber is only mentioned by Jordanes, who simply called him "king of the Huns" and who tells us the story of Balamber crushing the kingdom of Ostrogoths in around 375. Balamber may have been a member of a royal house, but more probably he was - if he ever existed - just a warrior chieftain,...	Hunnic Empire Hunnic Empire The Hunnic Empire was an empire established by the Huns. The Huns were a confederation of Eurasian tribes from the steppes of Central Asia. Appearing from beyond the Volga River some years after the middle of the 4th century, they first overran the Alani, who occupied the plains between the Volga...	375-469
Akhun İmparatorluğu	White Hunnic Empire		Hephthalite Hephthalite The Hephthalites or Hephthalite is a pre-Islamic Greek term for local Abdali Afghans, who's famous ruler was Nazak Abdali . Hephthalites were a Central Asian nomadic confederation of the AD 5th-6th centuries whose precise origins and composition remain obscure...	420-552
Göktürk İmparatorluğu	Göktürk Empire	Bumin Khan Bumin Khan Bumin Qaghan or Illig Qaghan was the founder of the Turkic Khaganate...	Turkic Khaganate	552-745
Avar İmparatorluğu	Avar Empire	Bayan I	Avar Khaganate	565-835
Hazar İmparatorluğu	Khazar Empire	Ziebel (probably Tong Khagan of Göktürks)	Khazar Khaganate	651-983
Uygur Devleti	Uighur State	Kutluk Bilge Köl	Uyghur Khaganate	745-1369 Actually the khaganate 745-840, but Turpan Uyghurs survived till 1369
Karahanlılar	Karahanids		Kara-Khanid Khanate Kara-Khanid Khanate The Kara-Khanid Khanate was a confederation of Turkic tribes ruled by a dynasty known in literature as the Karakhanids or Ilek Khanids, . Both dynastic names represent titles with Kara Kağan being the most important Turkish title up till the end of the dynasty.The Khanate ruled Transoxania in...	940-1040
Gazneliler	Gaznavids	Alp Tekin	Ghaznavids	962-1183
Büyük Selçuklu İmparatorluğu	Great Seljukid Empire	Selçuk Bey Seljuk Seljuk was the eponymous hero of the Seljuq Turks. He was the son of a certain Duqaq surnamed Timuryaligh and either the chief or an eminent member from the Kınık tribe of the Oghuz Turks...	Great Seljuq Empire Great Seljuq Empire The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...	1040–1157
Harzemşahlar	Harzemshahs	Muhammad I of Khwarazm Muhammad I of Khwarazm Qutb al-Din Muhammad was Khwarazm Shah from 1097 until his death. He was the son of Anush Tigin.In around 1097 Qutb al-Din Muhammad was appointed governor of Khwarazm by the Seljuk sultan Barkiyaruq's military commander, Habashi ibn Altun-Taq...	Khwārazm-Shāh dynasty	1097–1231
Altınordu Devleti	Golden Horde State	Batu Khan Batu Khan Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...	Golden Horde Golden Horde The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...	1236–1502
Büyük Timur İmparatorluğu	Great Timur Empire	Timur Timur Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...	Timurid Empire	1368–1501
Babür İmparatorluğu	Babür Empire	Babur Babur Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...	Mughal Empire Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...	1526-1858
Osmanlı İmparatorluğu	Ottoman Empire	Osman I Osman I Osman I or Othman I or El-Gazi Sultan Osman Ghazi, or Osman Bey or I. Osman, Osman Gazi Han), nicknamed "Kara" for his courage, was the leader of the Ottoman Turks, and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire...	Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...	1299-1922

Criticism

It needs further linguistic evidence to list the first four and the sixth (Avar) as Turkic states. It is also questionable to list Ghaznavids and the Mughal Empire as Turkic states. Because, although founded by Turks, they were quickly assimilated in the local population.

See also

• List of Turkic dynasties and countries
• History of the Turkic peoples
  History of the Turkic peoples
  The Turkic people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common Turkish culture, descent, and speaking the languages of the Turkish language family as a mother tongue. Within suzerain Turkish states, Turkish people are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of Turkish ancestry...
  
  
• Timeline of the Turks (500–1300)

External links

• Büyük Türk Devletleri (Smart cards of Türk Telekom
  Türk Telekom
  Türk Telekom is the formerly state owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was being separated from the Post Office in 1995. In November 2005 it was privatized to Oger Telecom....
  
  )
• Hüseyin Nihâl Atsız
  Hüseyin Nihâl Atsiz
  Hüseyin Nihâl Atsız was a prominent Turkish nationalist writer, novelist, poet and philosopher. Nihâl Atsız was a fervent supporter of the pan-Turkist or Turanism ideology. He is author of over 30 books and numerous articles...
  
  , "16 Devlet Masalı ve Uydurma Bayraklar" (16 State tales and fake flags), Ötüken , 65. sayı, 1969.